The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

Pilate’s custom allows one prisoner to go free at the feast. Barabbas, a rebel and murderer, is in prison, and the crowd asks Pilate to keep the custom. Pilate offers the King of the Jews, knowing the leaders acted from envy, but the chief priests stir the crowd to choose Barabbas instead.

N⁶ow it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people a prisoner of their choosing. ⁷And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom. ⁹“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. ¹⁰For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.